TOPIC: Surprising news on Duarte

Joey Kaufman, who I do not know, says that Thomas Duarte might be entering the draft. The reasoning is related to the departure of Mazzone. It makes some sense if Polamalu brings in more of a pro-style offense with a pro-style TE - the gamble for Duarte that he can make the transition to a true TE and still be highly successful may be too risky for him..

Rick, is this the kind of fall out you were warning about when Mazzone was rumored to be leaving? You warned "be careful what you wish for..."

I think at the end of the day Duarte will stay, but he does have that option and he could be thinking of leaving. Nothing is official. Be careful what you wish for had more to do with consistency. The best programs are able to keep their assistants i.e. Stanford and Oregon. Now Rosen and the entire offense has to learn new stuff and that takes time.